On digging chicks and taxes.

by unanon at 04:24 PM on July 19, 2002

So, you (ok, MG) may be wondering why I haven't been posting of late, and left my last series of posts on a pathetic cliffhanger [the unposted post is about Pentiums]. Well, the simple answer is that I have been busy. In the last 5 weeks, I have managed to cram and sit for three exams (which I actually did very well in, despite the fact that I now have a fair chunk of my time taken up with playing shows and whoring myself to the world media), release a zine, and generally tie up some loose ends.

In addition, I have been preparing to move [not 'out', but rather to stay at home while my parents relocate to new habitats], doing pre-production work on a film clip, and develop a mystery allergy to dust. Most people have allergies to cool things, like peanuts, or latex. There are latex-free condoms out there as a substitute for those who wanna have sex and not develop a rash because of it. What substitutes are there for dust? Somebody out there could make heaps developing a dust substitute. Anyway, the point is that I have been busy enjoying my holidays by completing long overdue projects, sleeping in, and generally drinking myself into a 'I don't really give a shit; getting over a hangover is the most productive thing I've done recently' state of mind.

Anyway, readers of my old site may remember two people who were mentioned quite a bit: the chick I dig, and the lesbian brownie (who, it turns out, is not a lesbian, just Catholic). Anyway, since I ended my old site, a number of things have happened to those two. The chick I digged finished her degree and took up a job before I could pluck up enough courage to tell her how I felt about her. Meanwhile, the lesbian brownie spent the last 6 months finishing off her degree and planning a 4 month long trip to Europe. Last week was her going away party. The chick I dig was there. So was her new boyfriend.

Readers of my old site would know that, despite the fact that me and the then-single chick I dig never went out, we were pretty close, and we are still good friends. One thing I didn't know was that she had a thing for middle-eastern men. She's Greek, her new boyfriend is middle-eastern. Then again, given the fact that I tend to miss 'signals', I probably should have known.

If there's one thing harder that walking in a straight line, it has to be sitting through a dinner with the person who you at one stage had so many feelings for while they do 'couple thing' with their new squeeze, but sat through it I did. The fact that there was a large number of people sitting between us that I had not met before, but had the task of impressing [mission: successful], certainly helped, but eating pizza and not looking like your heart has just been broken turned out to be easier than I thought it would be.

Now, I'm an outwardly calm person normally (it comes from being the first person the rednecks I share a city with suspected whenever there was an explosion of some kind), so I'm good at keeping my emotions in check. As dinner ended and the group headed for the many Irish pubs springing up everywhere, I took the chance to talk to the new squeeze, who turns out to be a really nice, if awkward in the nerdy way, guy.

If there's one thing that really gets my goat, it's attractive women who date morons or assholes. I couldn't really be pissed off at the chick I dig for dating a nice guy. I'm not even jealous. A little disappointed that I didn't date the only woman in Queensland who is willing to go out with men of middle-eastern origin, yes, but not bitter by any measure. It's not like I was rueing opportunity lost, because the ship had passed months ago. We are still friends, so I'm happy that she's happy.

Anyway, speaking of tying up loose ends, when I came home from the lesbian brownie's going away party, I used the increased alertness from the shock of seeing the chick I dig with another man (as possibly the Guarana-infused schnapps I had been drinking) to finish off my tax return. [Yes I know how silly that sounds. But if anything I am an opportunist. And it's very rare indeed that the woman you have been pining after for the last 3 years introduces you to her boyfriend at the same time your taxes are due.]

It turns out that I earned $6016, $16 more than the tax-free threshold, meaning I owe the government more than $3 in unpaid taxes, despite the fact that I have been technically unemployed since the end of last year, and not received a cent in student welfare benefits since the start of this year. Then again, I guess having that $3 spent on essential services such as keeping the files ASIO have on me up to date is pretty good value for money.